An automated marketing program where a Web advertiser or merchant recruits webmasters to place the merchant's banner ads or buttons on their own Web site. Webmasters will receive a referral fee or commission from sales when the customer has clicked the affiliate link to get to the merchant's Web site to perform the desired action, usually make a purchase or fill out a contact form. The most common types of affiliate programs include pay-per-click, pay-per-lead, and pay-per-sale.
Affiliate programs need to be tracked heavily to determine the activity surrounding the affiliate's link to the merchant's site. There are various arrangements determining the type of activity an affiliate can have including the number of clicks to a link, the number of people who end up buying something or performing a predetermined action.
Affiliate programs are an effective marketing strategy and a good way to gain exposure to your website.